it was a composition made of pounded stone
and cement cast in a mold. The mold was filled in with concrete and left
for several days. The reason of their having such posts was that the
worms destroyed the wooden ones.

The natives brought into the cars some beautiful flowers. They were of
alabaster whiteness, in shape not unlike a tulip, and having a strong
perfume somewhat like the magnolia. Resting within the cup of the
flower, lies the perfect image of a dove, with its beautifully formed
wings spread out from its side, its head bent forward, and its tiny bill
delicately tipped with red almost touching its snowy breast. No one who
has seen the flower can wonder that the early Spanish Catholics
believed the flowers to have had a miraculous origin, and named it
"Flor del Espiritu Santo" or "The Flower of the Holy Ghost."

Matachin is the largest station on the Isthmus. There we procured
oranges, which were unusually fine, also cakes tasting like macaroons,
and some bottles of milk.

Over the Chagres River at Barbacoas, is a wrought-iron bridge six
hundred and twenty-five feet long and eighteen broad, standing forty
feet above the surface of the water; it is said to be one of the longest
and finest bridges in the world. All along the road the sensitive plant,
with its feathery pink blossoms, grew in wild profusion.

At half-past eight in the evening we were on board the steamer Champion.
We soon commenced our last voyage, and _such_ a voyage! The vessel
rolled, and the ice in the hold gave out, and in consequence the meat
was in no fit state to eat. Every body and every thing seemed
uncomfortable. It was a great change from the clean and pleasant Golden
Age. We saw the islands of San Domingo, Narvasa, Jamaica, Cuba, Santa
Inagua, and Mayo Guano, of the West Indies.

On the morning of September 3, we were chased by a steamer. She was
under sail when we first saw her, but commenced getting up steam. She
lost time in that operation, and we outsailed her, much to our joy. Our
captain said without doubt she was a privateer.

Next day we were in the Gulf Stream. It was rough, squally, and rainy,
and the steamer rolled worse than ever. But all things come to an end,
and the next day was bright and pleasant. We left the Gulf Stream in the
night and were happy in a smooth sea. Six or seven ships were in sight,
and in the afternoon we passed Barnegat Lighthouse, then Highland
Light. We saw the lights in the hotels at Long Br